Ministry of Education
Union HRD Minister launches a unique initiative for talented students ‘Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme- DHRUV’
Dhruv Tara students will act as a beacon for crores of children across the country - Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
DHRUV Programme represents the true spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat – HRD Minister
Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched a unique initiative,the Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme-DHRUV, which will act as a turning point in the lives of extra ordinarily talented students,from the premises of the Indian Space Research Organisation  Headquarters at Bengaluru today. The new ProgrammeDHRUV ’will act as a platform to explore the talent of outshining and meritorious students, and help them achieve excellence in their specific areas of interest may it be science, performing arts, creative writing, etc. In this way, these talented students will not only realize their full potential but also contribute to the society in a big way. Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, ISRO, Dr K Sivan; first Indian citizen to enter into space , Wing Cdr. Shri Rakesh Sharma, Ashok Chakra  and Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission, Shri R. Ramanan were the guests of Honour at today’s function. The 60 selected talented children along with students of KVS also witnessed the launch of the DHRUV programme. The students also interacted with HRD Minister; Dr Sivan and Shri Rakesh Sharma and enquired about the experiences of their life as well as their struggles in achieving success.
The Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme has been started to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge. In centres of excellence across the country, gifted children will be mentored and nurtured by renowned experts in different areas, so that they can reach their full potential. It is expected that many of the students selected will reach the highest levels in their chosen fields and bring laurels to their community, State and Nation.
Speaking on the occasion, the HRD Minister said that the programme represents the vision of the Prime Minister ,Shri Narendra Modi and he expressed his happiness that the programme has been launched in the presence of the bright students. This programme will prove to be a turning point for the students as well as the society, and it is through their achievements that the world will know ‘Saare Jahan se accha Hindustan Hamara’. Giving details, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal said that we have included students of performing arts along with students of science, since performing arts have a great power to move ideas and people. With children drawn from all over the country, the DHRUV programme reflects the true spirit of EK Bharat Shreshth Bharat, he added. The Minister further said that now the onus is on these energetic and dynamic students to work towards taking India to the peak of its glory by which it was famous in the ancient times. Not only this, the students will now act as a beacon for the 33 crore students in the country and lay down a unique path for them to follow. He lauded the initiatives taken by the Government under the guidance of Prime Minister’s Vision such as Make In India, StartupIn India, Skill India, Digital India and several others which will make the country a world leader.
While addressing the gathering,Dr.Sivan said that each selected student will be christened as Dhruv Tara and expressed happiness that the flagship programme has been inaugurated at ISRO Headquarters which will provide a source of inspiration to the young minds. Quoting example of India’s Space programme Dr. Sivan said the programme has reached unexpected heights due to the talented and bright young minds over the last 60 years and the Dhruv Taras are also expected to make similar contributions to solve problems faced by the people.
While sharing his experiences ,Shri Rakesh Sharma said that these Dhruv Taras are the future innovators in their respective fields. He appealed to the student to be future ready to take on the challenges like terrorism, climate change, pollution which are staring us in the face now. He advised the youngsters to choose the purpose higher than yourself and also to revisit your personal definition of success. He also said it is not wealth but cutting edge work which brings greater satisfaction in life.
60 outstandingly talented students have been selected in the first batch of DHRUV programme. The students will thus both shine through their achievements and light a path for others to follow. To begin with, it will cover two areas i.e. Science and Performing Arts. There are 60 students in all, 30 from each area.The 60 students come from across the country. The students have been broadly chosen from classes 9 to 12, from all schools including government and private.
After today’s launch, a 14 days programme has been organized for these students in which the science and performing arts students will be separated into two groups. The science students will be divided into 3 groups of 10 each and also the performing arts students into 3 groups of 10 each. Each group from science stream will be required to produce a project under the mentorship of experts from the field of science. Similarly, each group in performing arts will be mentored by icons from the field of culture and will be required to choreograph a programme. All the six teams will be given themes relevant to issues being faced globally like environment change, pollution, terrorism, etc. From 14th to 23rd October, 2019 students will participate in various activities at IIT, Delhi and National Bal Bhawan.
Avaledictory programme will be held on 23rd October, 2019in which these 6 groups will present their project/performances on the above mentioned themes.
This is only the first phase of the programme which will be expanded gradually to other fields. These students will be visiting important places of scientific and cultural interest in Bengaluru and New Delhi.
Students will be able to interact with renowned mentors both in Delhi and abroad through video conferencing with global personalities. In addition, mentors who have excelled in innovation in non-science and non-performing arts fields will also interact with the students
A short film on Wg, Cdr. Ramesh Sharma was also played on the occasion. Three students innovators and budding scientists namely Rifat Sharook, Yagna Sai and Vijay Lakshminarayan who have built a Nano-satellite"Kalam-Sat-V2" which was launched by ISRO on 24th January 2019, gave a presentation on their innovative project. These students have been mentored by Dr. Srimathi Kesan from Space Kids India. Later, Shri Sivan answered many questions asked by the students on various issues.
Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy, Smt Rina Ray and other senior officials of the HRD Ministry, Department of Science &Technology,and Niti Aayog were present on the occasion.
Click here to see the profiles of DHRUV Tara students: